Cuban officials have approved plans for a $350m development with an 18-hole golf course designed by golfing legend Tony Jacklin.

The Carbonera Club proposed by British firm Esencia is the first of a dozen similar initiatives that have long been under consideration some 50 years after Fidal Castro famously ordered the island’s golf courses to be shut down because he considered them elitist.

Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero has confirmed that a formal deal had been reached for a joint venture between Esencia and the Cuban government to develop The Carbonera Club on a 170-hectare coastal site.

Esencia said that building work should begin next year on a design which would transform the area. As well as the golf course, the plans include the construction of an exclusive, gated community of some 650 apartments and villas and a hotel and a country club with tennis courts, spa and a yacht club.

The Carbonera Club is set to become one of the first projects of its kind in Cuba. Properties for sale will include private Villas and 1-4 bedroom apartments. A second golf project, with Chinese investment, is expected to be approved by the end of this year and there are other proposals from Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian developers.